UnderstandingWatch Speak

Guilloch

The decorative art of guilloché is one of the traditional crafts of watchmaking. It consists of engraving a dial or case with intricate patterns, from sunbursts to geometric shapes. It adds eyecatching flair to a timepiece and depth to the dial.

Moonphase

The world of watches is complicated. In fact the word for all that goes on inside a watch to make it tick is “complications.” Complications are intricate mechanisms that enhance a watch movement, also known as a caliber. They provide information other than simply keeping time. To try and uncomplicate the complications, here's a quick guide to some commonly used terms illustrated from our Patek Philippe Collection:

Grand Complication

Grand complications include timepieces with the most complicated functions including minute repeaters, split-second chronographs and perpetual calendars. Ref # 5270J-001 (shown at right) also includes moon phases, leap year and day/night indication.

In the 16th century the need for a moonphase watch dial arose for travelers. A full moon meant a lighter sky and safety when planning an overnight journey. The moonphase mechanism consists of a 30-toothed disc. The disc has two gold-colored moons opposite each other on the disc, surrounded by gold- colored stars on a blue background. As the days pass, the moon will appear from the left side of the window.

Chronograph

A chronograph, the most common complication, is a type of watch with a built-in stopwatch feature. A separate hand can be started, stopped and returned to zero to measure elapsed time to one-fifth, tenth or even hundredth of a second. A chronograph typically has two to three subdials and a return- to-zero button, or pusher, on the side of the case. The top pusher starts and stops the chronograph; the bottom pusher resets it.

Perpetual Calendar

A perpetual calendar displays the date, day, month, an d year, automatically adjusting for leap year and the length of the month. It will only need adjusting for the rare years in which a leap year is due but doesn't take place, the next being the year 2100 and then 2400.

Power Reserve

The first wristwatch with the power reserve mechanism was created by Breguet in 1933. However, this was only a prototype with only one watch assembled. Today certain models like the Flyback Chronograph (shown) have an extended power reserve of 45 hours. The power reserve indicator on the dial lets the wearer know how much energy the watch still has, like the gas gauge on your automobile.